3 Indian players to watch out for in New Zealand vs India Series

After the long tour of Australia, it is now time for the Indian team to go to New Zealand. India would be very high on confidence after becoming the first ever team to finish the Australian tour without losing any series.

In the One Day series against Australia, apart from the first match where the Australian team outperformed the Indian team, India won the remaining matches quite easily. But this might not be the case in the New Zealand tour, as the New Zealand team looks a much better side when compared to the Australian team. They have a good mixture of experience and youth in their team. They have very good solid batsmen in Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Ross Taylor has been in good form in the recent past.

As the conditions in New Zealand are quite similar to the conditions in England, this would be the perfect opportunity for India to test their preparations. India would also want to be sure about the players they pick in the World Cup squad by the end of the series. In today's article, we take a look at three Indian players to watch out for in this series.

#3 Vijay Shankar

In the absence of Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar has a nice opportunity to impress the team management. Considering the current circumstances of Hardik Pandya, there is still uncertainty about the future of the player so the Indian team would like to have a backup in place if needed. Vijay Shankar is a similar kind of player to Hardik Pandya.

Vijay Shankar is more of a batting all-rounder in first-class cricket. In first-class cricket, he has a healthy average of 47.70. If he performs well, he will give the Indian team the freedom to go with both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Otherwise, one of the two has to sit out for Ravindra Jadeja to provide depth in the batting lineup.

The conditions in New Zealand will be helpful to his style of bowling and if he performs well enough to get a place in the World Cup squad, it will be beneficial for both the team and for Shankar himself.

#2 Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill has finally got the opportunity he was waiting for. Considering the form of KL Rahul in recent times, there is still a spot of backup opener left in the World Cup squad. New Zealand has been a very lucky place for him. He won the Man of the Tournament award at the U19 World Cup which took place in New Zealand. In the tournament, he scored 372 runs in 5 innings and was the second highest run scorer in the tournament.

The rise of Shubman Gill as a batsman has been meteoric. He is the highest run-getter for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy this season. Shubman Gill has a very good technique for difficult conditions. It would be difficult for him to find a place in the first playing XI. The only two ways of him getting a look in the side are if one of the openers performs badly or if India takes a lead of 3-0 in the series. Even if he gets chance for one match, he would want to make sure that he makes it big.

#3 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Australia v India - ODI: Game 3

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has silenced all his critic with his performance in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia. He also won man of the match for his excellent batting display throughout the series.

The Australian series was a low scoring series and there never has been a question on him to chase a target of around 280-300. The problem in the recent past has been whether he is still capable to take India home when the target is in excess of 310-320.

This New Zealand series would definitely be high scoring series looking at the strength of both the teams. It will also be interesting to see at which position MS Dhoni comes out to bat. If MS Dhoni is able to finish the innings in this series then the Indian team management would be very happy about it. After all, everyone wants him to finish matches in style.